Ubiquitous, affordable, and trendy are the most suitable terms to describe Korean beauty shops and their products. It is no secret that Korea is outrunning its competitors in the global beauty market, with both its domestic and global popularity skyrocketing as new products are introduced by various brands. The so-called “road-shops” in Korea (because they are on roads) are easily found in the country. From numerous brands, road-shops are stocked with beauty items that are reasonably priced. From being accessible to affordable, K-beauty brands are seeing continuous growth in their sales in the global market.

Brands and trendsFamous Korean mid-range beauty brands. (Photo courtesy of wevio.com) Etude House, Tonymoly, Innisfree, Missha, The Face Shop, Nature Republic, Skin Food, and Holika Holika are all famous and popular cosmetic brands in Korea. Each brand boasts its own series of beauty products, loved not just for the products themselves but because of their eye-catching, likeable packaging. Korean beauty brands have also gained recognition for their innovative formulas, ingredients, and manufacturing processes. On top of all these, the sophisticated and demanding customers in the local Korean market have also been one of the major drivers.

The facets aforementioned push K-beauty brands way ahead of the game, differentiating them from other international beauty brands and even in the highly competitive beauty market. The short product development cycle compared with the international players helps Korean beauty brands respond more quickly to evolving customer demands and trends. Innovation in product development is driven in part by the heavy investment in research and development.

Mid-range beauty brands also has an impact on its domestic aspect. Since it is very accessible and affordable, young students, ranging from elementary to high school students can also be the tarketed customers. This has lowered an entry barrier to cosmetics, teenagers showing scorching interest in makeup products and makeup trend. The outcome was the so-called “student makeup” which is basically makeup style worn by teenage students.

Even though there are an increasing number of Korean beauty brand shops abroad, an influx of tourists is visiting Korea with the main interest of shopping for beauty products. Myeongdong and Ewha Woman’s University shopping street are the two most famous places to shop for cosmetic products, since virtually all brands of beauty stores are lining up in the street. Makeup lovers from various countries fly over to Korea and satisfy their beauty appetite with mid-range beauty products.

Beauty brands in a row in Myeongdong (Photo courtesy of trend-traveller.com)

Road-shops in a line in Ewha Woman's University street (Photo courtesy of pinterest.com)

Floating on the wave of K-beauty, the mid-range beauty brands are emerging as a rising star in the world’s beauty market and finding overseas niche to meet the foreign demands as well. Just as K-pop and Hallyu is giveing quite of a cultural influence in the global stage, Korean beauty brands and the K-beauty trend is becoming increasingly popular and is being spotlighted in the makeup empire. Makeup trends of Korea, partly established by K-pop celebrities, idols’ fashion, and partly formed by beauty brands, are gaining popularity as Korean culture is further promoted overseas.